X

If you're looking for a classic slasher, you've come to the right place. You've got a group of young idiots on one side and a couple of elderly folks with unfulfilled dreams on the other. Add in sex, blood, rock and roll, and surprisingly good filmmaking. The director and cinematographer have a keen eye for great shots, and the period atmosphere is spot-on. (02/07/2023)

Can't you combine a retro slasher, a romantic story about love in retirement and porn all at once? Wrong. I never had Ti West in my crosshairs all that much, but here he fits beautifully and I'm just short of complete satisfaction and a five star rating. The very idea of a porn shack making adult films in a redneck backwoods is quite a treat, and when you add pissed off psychopathic pensioners and lots of blood and nastiness, you've won. The atmosphere built up from the start is perfect, working great visually and musically, only for the film to unleash utter madness in the second half. The characters are quite cleverly introduced and so you experience and suffers with them all the more, the "bad guys" are sleazy and disgusting, and I have to say that the "disgusting old people" element works perfectly here and I haven't felt such intense inner disgust and fear in a long time. There’s nudity, headshots and bizarre things that will make weaker close their eyes. If the creators had gone even bolder with the gore and avoided some of the clichés in terms of character behaviour, I would have given it a full score. But I'm still pleased with the result, as I haven't been in a long time. Few films so artfully combine so many elements that make for simply good horror, and the legends of a potential horror film of the year really weren't lying. (04/16/2022)

X is the most inventively directed seventies exploitation flick by a contemporary young filmmaker. Ti West knows what he’s doing as he plays with the viewers and genre techniques, mixes a bit of soft-core porn with a chunk of hard slasher, and doesn’t forget to be a little bit deviant. But mainly, he gives form to the classic slasher premise of “horny teens must die” in the craftiest way in recent decades. X won’t scare you, but the more you are at home in the genre and love a breath of fresh air in it, the more you’ll enjoy the story of unfortunate visitors to the evil farm. Also, bare breasts. (04/21/2022)

So, I've had another "horror" experience that certainly didn't enrich me in any way. Ti West directed his own script, and the outcome was just as peculiar as his first name. The script didn't hold much weight; aside from the two seniors, all the characters felt dreadfully onedimensional (and therefore boring). The only scene that genuinely horrified me was one where I found myself grateful for no longer being young and that life had already dealt me enough blows, sparing me from deeper psychosexual trauma. While I understand that love knows no age, and I wholeheartedly support that, I simply didn't need to witness it here. I reckon Mia Goth enjoyed her dual role far more than I enjoyed the entire film because my two stars go to those responsible for the masks and the killings. The story itself struck me as rather laughable; the characters acted idiotically enough to fit the current "horror" trend, and I found myself fast-forwarding through the slower parts. Let me be frank; I've seen much worse. Nevertheless, I can't say I'm eagerly anticipating the second part (which is actually supposed to be the first part). / Lesson learned: Yes, there can be circumstances in human life when death seems like a better option. (10/24/2023)

After a hiatus of almost 10 years, the overrated Ti West returns with his best horror film to date, and it is already attacking second place. X is a great homage to 70-80s slashers and hixploitation horror with a beautiful retro look, a downright rarity nowadays and as a lover of the subgenre I of course applaud and salute, this film does a lot things right. The film has an interesting premise about a bunch of young filmmakers who want to make an adult film in a remote Texas location owner by a creepy retired couple, who of course don’t approve of what the youngsters have in mind. I like that Ti West goes about it a little differently, and rather than watching a bunch of teenagers drinking and then having it out as is customary in films like this, this style suited me better. Anyone expecting a NC-17 rating was naive, it really wouldn't pass muster in the US, but at least the girls show up topless, which in itself is brave these days (the 80s were better at that). The introduction to soft porn is a substantial and entertaining spectacle that soon turns into uncompromising and fine carnage (as weak as the previous three years were for gore, I'm very happy with this year). Ti West additionally took advantage of the fact that creepy old people are in vogue, but why should they just haunt when they can murder too, right? The main villains are really fucking sleazy and nasty (we may not see better horror baddies this year). A grandma with a knife and a pitchfork, with a smile on her face while the blood splashes, I dig that! The characters are likable, the are girls attractive (Jenna Ortega!), the gore is very good (the cow scene in the opening act really got me off my chair and on my feet), and that crocodile, well he played two awesome and uncomfortable scenes right there. X is a very essential horror film for this year as well, it came at the right time and gives horror fans more or less everything they would expect from a solid horror film. One funny and apt line from the film: “Nobody's comin' to see this film for the plot. They're comin' to see tits and ass” and Gore! Fucking A- Right. Story 3/5. Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8.5/10. (04/14/2022)